Recovering from mid-course mistakes has become American ski racer Lindsey Vonn’s calling card. She executed yet another inspiring save today (Feb. 26) in Bansko, Bulgaria to earn her fourth World Cup super G win of the season.
Vonn, who started the race with a 20-point lead in the super G standings in the No. 17 bib, made a her mistake in the middle of the course when she briefly lost balance and threw her skis sideways, losing precious speed. The following split timer showed Vonn 0.61 seconds behind the current leader. The three-time super G title winner found a new gear in the bottom portion of the course, showing the athleticism that took her to three other super G wins this season, taking huge air off the final jump and crossing the finish line with a 0.05 advantage on second place finisher Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.
The win marked Vonn’s second consecutive super G win in Bansko as she also took the victory the last time the women’s tour stopped here in 2009. Today's win, the 18th World Cup super G of Vonn's career, also gives her the record of most super G wins of any woman in World Cup history. Retired Austrian great Renate Goetschl prevously held the record at 17.
Italian Daniela Merighetti was only another two hundredths of a second behind Weirather to grab third place honors. It was the fifth podium of Weirather's career, all coming in this, her breakout season. Merighetti notched her second podium of the season.
Slovenian Tina Maze came closest to the tightly packed podium in fourth place, 0.33 seconds off the winning time.
With today’s win in the last super G of the regular season, Vonn’s super G point total climbed to 413 points. Only Austrian Anna Fenninger, now 94 points behind with a 10th-place finish today, could possible stop Vonn from winning her third discipline title of the season. Vonn has already secured this season’s World Cup downhill and super combined titles and holds a commanding 528-point lead in the overall standings.
Competition was tight all the way down the start list as racers were fighting for not only the podium, but also a place among the top 25 in the season-long rankings to earn a ticket to the World Cup finals in Schladming, Austria in three weeks.
The women were happy to finally be racing in Bansko, a day after strong winds canceled the last downhill of the regular season. Winds were much calmer today as a capacity crowd filled the stands on an overcast but warm day.
American Julia Mancuso, winner of the last super G in Garmisch, Germany, lost some speed in the middle of the course but hung on to finish eighth today and secure a third-place ranking heading into finals.
Fellow Americans Leanne Smith and Luarenne Ross finished 18th and 24th, respectively today. Smith will join teammates Vonn and Mancuso in the finals super G race ranked 19th. Ross just missed the cut standing in 28th, though she will be competing in the downhill at finals.
The women’s World Cup season will wind down over the next two weekends with tech races in Ofterschwang, Germany and Are, Sweden before closing the show in Schladming March 11-18.
MORE TO COME
Image by Gepa